U.s. Trade Gap Narrows

TORONTO — Embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his Cabinet Friday. The prime minister’s office confirmed late Thursday that Trudeau will participate in the swearing-in ceremony and chair a meeting with his new Cabinet later Friday. Trudeau is facing rising discontent over his leadership, and the abrupt departure of his finance minister on Monday could be something he can’t recover from. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] A rising number of Liberal lawmakers are calling on Trudeau to resign but new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday Trudeau has the “full support of his Cabinet.” LeBlanc said he respects the views of Liberal lawmakers who want Trudeau to resign. “That’s a view they are expressing.

NEW YORK — MrBeast’s ambitious reality show, which the YouTube megastar hopes will expand his giant online reach and turn the corner on recent controversies, is already raising questions from consumer advocates over a partnership with a fintech company. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Prime Video’s Thursday premiere of the record-setting Beast Games capped off a tumultuous year for Jimmy Donaldson and his production company.

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BRISBANE, Australia — Australian breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has tried to be a good sport about the jokes and criticism that poured in from around the globe after her controversial performance at the Paris Olympics. But maybe “Raygun: the Musical” was a bridge too far. Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge called off the show just hours before it was set to premiere in Sydney, after Gunn’s lawyers contacted its comedy club venue and threatened legal action. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Broadbridge told her social media followers that the lawyers had trademarked the poster for the musical and told the comedian she could not do Gunn’s notorious kangaroo dance because the Olympian who went viral for her performance in Paris owns it. Gunn, a 37-year-old Sydney university lecturer, has said the fallout from her gig at the August debut of Olympic breaking left her “devastated” and forced her to retire from competition.

WASHINGTON — A day before a potential government shutdown, the House resoundingly rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage—but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reassess, before Friday’s midnight deadline. “We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote.

A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing Washington to the brink of a federal government shutdown. President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that a provision raising or suspending the nation’s debt limit—something that his own party routinely resists—be included in legislation to avert a government shutdown.